Fairy Tail: War Journal
by StarkAndStrange
Summary: Crime runs rampant in the streets and ruining the lives of thousands. An unknown individual is beginning to pursue his own form of justice, killing criminals with no sign of mercy. Our heroes must catch this man at all costs to save the lives of others and defend the dignity of their guild. But all they know is this killer's alias, The Punisher.
1. Chapter 1

In a land far far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought in every marketplace. For most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art. And they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together in to magical guilds, they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will, no doubt, create more legends well into the future.

Its name is Fairy Tail.

Chapter 1: Bang Bang

Fiore is not a perfect nation. Crime still runs rampant in the streets of cities and fields. Vehicles and property stolen by thugs, money robbed and laundered by crime syndicates, innocent people murdered like cattle for no good cause. Some of the most prominent examples of these instigators can be found in dark guilds, groups of wizards banded together to abuse the uses of magic for self-gain and evade the law.

Our story begins in one of these guilds. A smaller guild known as Giant's Horror. Things from the outside seem pretty peaceful…

That was until one of them members get thrashed outside through one of the windows with a trail of fire following him.

Taking a look inside, we see the fairly established fortress was in havoc! Scorch marks found on the walls, giant blocks of ice implanted in the tables and decorations, multiple swords and various melee weapons pinning dark wizards to the ground. And oddly enough, the skeletons of eaten fish were scattered across the floor and in the mouths of some of the incapacitated dark wizards.

It's not too difficult to pick out who the culprits of this chaos are. After all, they were the only ones, standing by this point and it's pretty easy to find pink hair in a crowd. It was the strongest team of Fairy Tail!

Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragonslayer. Dressed in a one sleeved black coat with orange linings. On his shoulder, Happy the fluffy blue flying cat is perched eating fish that he got from God knows where.

Lucy Heartfilia, the celestial wizard. She's currently garbed in her blue and white tank top with an accompanying miniskirt and knee-high boots. She doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination, but no one's complaining.

Erza Scarlet, Titania. She was previously wearing her black wing armor with bat-like wings and a pitch black armored shell around a "tactical" black bikini. With the battle ending, she quickly requips into her more conservative, standard Knight armor with a maroon Fairy Tail Patch on the chest.

Grey Fullbuster, the Ice Make Mage. Grey was wearing nothing except his boxers (thankfully). His poor habit of stripping quickly cost him is his clothing 30 seconds into the battle and Natsu saw an opportunity to burn them when no one was looking. Grey would most likely strip again so the prank was ultimately pointless.

The rag tag group of heroes had successfully knocked out all the gang members excluding one to hold as a hostage to gather information.

Erza points a sword at the low-life, "Don't put yourself through more pain than necessary, are there anymore dark guilds in the area? Our mission is to take down any that have been causing the people of the local village trouble. We also can't have too much criminal activity around our own home town either, Fairy Tail doesn't like it when dark guilds get brave."

"Believe it or not, there is honor amongst thieves, girlie. I ain't talking," the dark wizard declared.

Erza put the sword closer to his neck. Her eyes seemed to glow with pure hatred. Natsu knew those eyes from his daily beatings from her and knew what the gang banger was in for.

Natsu ran to the crook and started shaking his shoulders furiously, "You better listen to her! I've been in your shoes and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy! Trust me!"

The crook was shook, "Alright Alright! There's another guild about 3 miles south of here. It's called Howling Wind. It's a start-up dark guild so its overall member count is fairly small, but I've been there and they've got some heavy hitters so don't even think of underestimating them. Erigor the Reaper is the master too!" Satisfied, Erza releases her sword as it disintegrates back into her pocket dimension.

Erigor, a name this particular team is all too familiar with. The name alone got Natsu's blood boiling. A villain that Natsu always beat down, but he always seemed to get away and he'd have some new tricks up his sleeve anytime the two would reunite.

"Erigor you say, hehehehe, I'm all fired up now!" Natsu proclaimed as he slammed his fists together. "Aye Sir!" Happy quickly reciprocated in a joyous tone.

The rest of the team all locked eyes with each other. With a small nod, they agreed on their next course of action. The defeated thug, however, grew a very distraught face and even began to shed a few tears, "I just betrayed my allies. My friends. Now I'm going to prison for who know how long. I might as well be dead" The sad thug is promptly slapped by the pink haired slayer.

"Don't even think about being dead for another millisecond! All life is precious no matter who someone is or what they've done in the past. What's important is what you learn from it and how you can use it to build yourself up in the future. Yes, you are legally a criminal, but you can atone for your crimes and redeem yourself. You deserve another chance, just like everyone else."

Erza couldn't help but smile at Natsu's small lecture. He was an idiot most days of the week, but when it comes to fighting and morals, Natsu was as wise and as strong as they come. She puts a comforting hand on his shoulder, "That was beautiful, Natsu. But regardless, we can't leave him alone and we need to get moving to the other guild so I request that you knock him out"

Natsu obliges, "Sorry, bud" Natsu makes his hand into a finger gun and points it at the criminal. "Bang" a fire pellet shoots from Natsu's fingers on the command. It impacts square in the center of the man's head as he falls to the floor unconscious, but he looked peaceful in his sleep.

Meanwhile at the Hollowing Wind Guild,

Mages of all shapes and sizes were celebrating like there was no tomorrow with small brawls and booze being drunk like it was water. The cause for such jubilation was the previously completed mission. The dark guild had successfully raided a Magic Council Vault without a hitch and Erigor saw reason for a small party.

Erigor is sitting in the corner enjoying the atmosphere and finishing his final thoughts on a speech. With his points straight in his head, he takes a final swig and uses some minor wind magic to levitate himself on top of a table in the middle of the main guild hall.

Erigor catches his breath to release, "Hollowing Wind let me hear you roar!" followed by a massive cheer that would cause anyone's chest to vibrate from the sheer sound.

"With our latest heist," the wind mage continues, "we now have a significant boost in our jewels, weapons, ammo, and other munitions!" The guild releases a hearty cheer at the thought of all the fresh supplies. "With the fall of the Balam Alliance, all criminal syndicates, magic and non-magic alike are accruing power to be the next big kingpins. Well I say, that Hollowing Wind will rise to be more powerful than any dark guild before it" The members roar with agreement and fistbumps. They quickly quiet down to allow their leader to continue.

"So from this day forward," Erigor raises his mug and everyone else does likewise, "Long live Hollowing Wi-" a sharp bang resounds the room as Erigor's brains get scattered across his living members.

Everyone is in shock, but this doesn't slow the continuing gunshots as more and more dark guild members begin dropping like flies. Some wizards try to collect themselves and shoot magical projectiles or gunshots of their own in whatever direction the bullets maybe coming from.

This does no good as the rounds keep stampeding through the walls and windows. Mere seconds later, the room is littered with bodies.

After a few moments of silence, a lone figure walks into the guild hall and observes the damage. The figure steps over the bodies across the hall, the sound of cracking and splashing can be heard as the assailant steps on glass shards and through puddles of blood. He makes it to the end of the hall which is lined with wooden crates.

The shooter opens up the crates and examines the contraband. Boxes and boxes filled with rifles, shotguns, handguns, anti-magic rounds, grenades, swords, armor, explosives, Kevlar, and even more hidden secrets could be hidden in the multiple unopened crates.

"agghhhh" a grunt echoes throughout the room. The figure turns around to see one of the dark guild members, still alive. He took a shot to the chest, shrapnel to the leg, and was bleeding out, but he was still breathing. It appears that he's trying to crawl for a hiding spot amongst the rubble.

The survivor doesn't make it far before he hears footsteps. He reluctantly pushes himself over to see two black combat boots. His eyes begin to follow up the legs to find the shooter's face, but is only greeted by the barrel of a .45 handgun. The figure utters the last word the member will ever hear…

"Bang."

 **Strange: And that's chapter 1! I hope you enjoyed the start to our story and what's to come.**

 **Stark: Absolutely, but we have lives outside of this and we'll try our best to get more chapters to you asap.**

 **Strange: Well, not really. All we do is masturbate to-**

 **Stark: ANYWAYS, we have a full outline of how we want this story to go, it's just a matter of writing it down. Thanks for reading!**

 **Next Chapter: Where Did the Angels Go**


	2. Chapter 2

In a land far far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought in every marketplace. For most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art. And they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together in to magical guilds, they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will, no doubt, create more legends well into the future.

Its name is Fairy Tail.

Chapter 2: Where Did the Angels Go

"Let's go guys!" Natsu says in a full sprint, pulling a helpless Lucy by the arm, "We don't want them to head out on anymore missions and hurt more people!"

"Aye sir!" Happy responds as he flies overhead in a reconnaissance position.

Grey, also in a sprint, sneers, "Why do you think we're running, charcoal breath?" Natsu shoots him a fierce snarl as he stops in his tracks. "You're just jealous that you couldn't keep up with me." Natsu proclaims as he butts heads with his rival.

Grey pushes back and retorts, "Oh really? Because it looked like you were losing your steam, hothead!" Natsu doesn't back down, "Say that to my face, Jackoff Frost!" Grey frowns, "I am saying it to your face lizard shit!"

"ENOUGH OUT OF BOTH YOU!" Erza says as she clocks them both on the top of the head. The pair collapsed dazed in a rather loving embrace. "TKO!" Happy says muffled by the fish in his mouth. Lucy, a witness to the hijinks, just sweatdrops and tries to save the situation, "Ummm, guys? I can see the guild. It's just over there in that clearing"

And sure enough, there it was. A tall stone structure in the distance. Hanging on the front wall was a banner with a gust of wind blowing through a skull. It was like the building itself was trying to tell all viewers, "Hey, I'm definitely evil in some way, so just back off."

The mood of our heroes changed as they focused their attention on silently approaching the dark guild. Well, that was the plan, but Natsu had to be Natsu and scream a war cry with fire blazing in his wake as he runs straight to the front doors and busts them down with one punch!

Erza, slaps her forehead in disappointment and quickly runs up to catch Natsu and reprimand him for his insolence. "NATSU! I swear you will be severely punished for throwing yourself into danger so blindly" Erza readies a knuckle sandwich to be delivered to Natsu's face, but then Erza got a good look at it.

He was horrified.

Natsu's face was pulled into a look of pure shock and terror. Curious, Erza turns her head, wondering what could put Fairy Tail's very own fearless Salamander into such a state. A decision she soon regretted once she caught a glimpse of the horrid view in front of her.

Bodies were littered everywhere. Pools of blood were collecting in every little nook and cranny. The rest of the team catches up and they all get their own eyefuls of the gore before them. Instinctually, the group advances to investigate what happened.

Lucy stumbles at one point. She turns to see what she just tripped on. It was a man, or what was most likely a man at some point. Bullet holes were punched all over his body and it even resulted into some internal organs and bone to pop out several unnatural locations. The celestial wizard couldn't contain herself and ended up vomiting her lunch on to the floor.

Happy's eyes were wide as dinner plates as he shakily floats around and gets a full bird's eye view of the scene. "What could have happened to these guys…" Eventually the sheer trauma of the blood and death couldn't be processed by the cat's small brain and he faints. Luckily Natsu wasted no time to catch him and coddle him a little bit.

"I'm sorry you had to see this buddy," The dragonslayer whispers as he places his old friend on top of his head to give him a chance to rest. Natsu himself was barely able to handle this. So many emotions running through him at a mile a minute.

Natsu was sad that these people were slaughtered, angry that they didn't get hear in time to save them, and he was even scared that there was something that could kill strong wizards so brutally so quickly.

Grey had to step outside after only a couple seconds. The bodies reminded him too much of the destruction left behind by Deliora. The bodies of his own family and fellow villagers scattered across what once was his home still haunts him to this day.

The only person keeping a somewhat straight face was Erza. Too much was happening at once and she needed to calm down and approach this rationally like a good leader should.

"REQUIP!" Erza shouts as her body begins to glow. The light fades and Erza's standard armor is removed, but around her blouse now is a swede trench coat and on top of her head is an old English hunting cap. Lucy, being the book geek she is, recognizes the outfit.

"Erza, are you wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume?" Lucy wasn't sure if Erza was going crazy from trauma or if she was trying to lift the mood.

Erza quickly answers, "Actually this is my deduction armor. Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Character, It gives the wearer a more logical and acute sense of forensic science and crime scene investigation. I acquired quite recently and now I can put it to use" her voice appeared to change too.

Lucy sweatdrops, "Does it give you a British accent too?"

"The game is afoot!" Erza evades the question by trotting away. The scarlet mage pulls out a magnifying glass and jumps all over the gruesome guild hall and examines literally everything. She views the windows, walls, bodies, boxes, and anything else of significance. Anytime Erza stops and points her magnifying glass at a specified location, it eventually makes a *ding* sound and she quickly moves to the next location.

After about 2 minutes, Erza stops and lets the magnifying glass process the information gathered. The magic evidence collector eventually completes its theory and sends it as a telepathic message to Erza for her to recite.

"Judging by the bullet holes all around the room that penetrate through just about every wall and window, these men were attacked on all sides. This implies a fairly large group had pulled off a coordinated attack.

"Secondly, these men, while having multiple lacerations and wounds, were killed by gun shots to the heart or head. Now we know these assailants were well trained with the weapons they had. There aren't any signs of magic from the outside going in so this group is just non-magic individuals, they must have been extremely dangerous if average people were able to take down these wizards so easily.

"Finally, these crates over there were meant to contain all forms of contraband. Jewels, weapons, and munitions. That means these men were killed for the supplies. Conclusion, there is a new military-class crime syndicate trying to grow to power and if they go uncaught, they will likely become very powerful very quickly."

The team was stunned by Erza's monologue, but before they could say anything, they heard a groan. Natsu immediately pinpoints it to a small area of rubble and rushes over to remove the debris to find a man. He was bleeding in several areas and looked pale as a ghost. The team gets to work to help the survivor fight off death.

"It's okay. We're here to help" Grey states to calm the stranger, "What's your name?" The survivor looks among the group is hesitantly. He knows they're Fairy Tail wizards, but he was dying and he didn't have much reason to keep any secrets at the moment. Barely able to move his lips the man utters, "My n-n-n-n-name is Winston."

"Well, Winston. Pleasure to meet you, but this is gonna hurt." Natsu lights one of his hands on fire and begins cauterizing one of Winston's wounds. Winston shrieks in pure pain and clutches Erza's arm for dear life as the burning does eventually close off an area of heavy bleeding, but he couldn't hold on as he eventually passes out from the pain.

Erza wastes no time to check his pulse and breathing patterns. "He's still alive, but we need to get him to a hospital now. The local village won't be good enough. If we make haste, we can get him to Magnolia General Hospital before any wounds become inoperable."

Natsu lifts up Winston and throws him over his shoulder. Lucy takes Happy off Natsu's head so he doesn't have to worry about two passengers. The group bolts for home.

After a short time, the fairies get Winston to Magnolia's emergency room. Winston's condition was critical, but the doctor's were grateful the wizards showed up when they did, or else he'd be dead. The group then make their way back to the Fairy Tail guild hall to get some rest and so Erza can report in to Makarov about her discovery.

In the guild,

Makarov is sitting on the counter of the guild bar as he monitors his children behind a giant mug of beer. The front doors fly open as Erza, Grey, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy make their way in. The team is greeted with cheers and screams and dares to battle as they walk down the main hall. The old man noticed that they all appeared to be coming in with low spirits and stern faces. Makarov stiffens himself and prepares for whatever they have to say.

Erza stops promptly in front of her master and begins, "Master, the dark guilds have been stopped. But I'm afraid that we only stopped one. The other guild was slaughtered in cold blood"

Master Makarov was shocked to hear this and his eyes widened in response to hearing the news. He quickly regains his composure and continues to listen, "The scene was not pretty and has clearly left us distraught. However, I've collected some data and I predict that there is a new criminal organization trying to gain some notoriety. We don't think they're capable of magic, but they're smart and coordinated so they shouldn't be underestimated"

"Are you sure? It's not every day you hear of some people with guns killing a guild of dark wizards," the old master questioned. Erza nodded her head to confirm her beliefs. Makarov begins to slowly pace the bar and ponders his next course of action. "What do you plan to do master?" Mira who happened to be eavesdropping inquired. The master grunted as he thinks of his plan. He opens his eyes and turns to Team Natsu.

"I will write this down in a report for the Magic Council if this is a serious as it sounds. I also want you to continue investigating this mystery crime syndicate. We don't know much about them, but you'd probably be the readiest if you have a run in with these folks." With that, the master leaves to write a report for nearby guilds and the Magic Council.

Our heroes circle with each other, "What do we do next?" Grey asks. "I am not letting Happy stay with us for another minute if we're following up on these…thugs," Natsu says bitterly, "I'm taking him home so he can get some rest and I'll have Lisanna look after him. Then I'll be ready to come back." Erza nods with approval along with everyone else.

Erza takes charge and begins spitting out orders, "Well, we have new crime lords on the horizon and a witness to their actions currently being treated in the hospital. Lucy, get some rune knights to Magnolia General Hospital. Winston is going to need some protection then try and question him yourself and get some information. Grey, you do some personal investigation around town. See if there's any kind of military or gang activity happening in Magnolia. I have a hunch a lot is happening right under our noses. I remember seeing a request on the board about a butcher shop that is housing a gang here in Magnolia. And Natsu, once you're done with Happy. Meet up with Lucy at the hospital."

"AYE SIR!" The group cheers and race out the doors to accomplish their individual tasks.

Meanwhile…

A lone man is walking down a street in the marketplace of Magnolia. He enters a dingy looking pawn shop. It's filled with all sorts of assorted gifts, trinkets, and tools. It was empty at the moment excluding the owner behind the counter who was just scrolling through some DVDs in a box. He looks up at the sound of the bell which indicates when the front door opens. He gets a good view of his new customer.

He's definitely not the average Magnolian because he's never seen him before in this close-knit community. He was a very well-built man in maybe his mid-30s or so. If he was any older then he looked young for his age. He had a buzzcut for his black hair and very broad face with some rugged looks and hints of a beard beginning to grow after a recent shave. He was dressed in all black. From the top down, he had a body fitting black t shirt which showed off his muscles to any observers with a thick black waist coat around him. He had black pants and black combat boots too.

"What can I do ya for mister?" The owner asks. The man in black strolls to the counter and stare down the owner.

He opens his mouth to speak. He has a very gravel and quiet voice, "I need telecommunications lacrimas. Ones that can connect to rune knight, legal guild, and magic council activity." He was very to the point and serious with every word. "What makes you think I would have any of that stuff? That shit's illegal after all"

The man promptly reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a thick wad of jewels and sets it on the counter. The shop owner without hesitating goes into a back room and comes back out with a bag of lacrimas.

"Now I got some quality stuff for you here. These will pick up inter-guild talks, rune knights, wizard to wizard, and just about anything you'd want it to. You'd probably be able to hear the old fairy tail master banging one of his wizard chicks." The man makes a sound which one could argue to be a chuckle, but it was at minimum approving of the bag of lacrimas. "Each one is labelled for what so don't worry about getting them mixed up." The shop owner holds a couple up to prove his claims.

"Anything else I can do for you?" the dingy man asks the stranger. "How about that double barrel shotgun you're keeping under the counter?" The pawn man shocked reaches under the table to grab his own self-defense weapon. He unloads the gun and hands it to the lone figure.

The customer ignores the gun and takes the shells. He begins to walk out of the store, but the owner sees a business opportunity to sell.

"Hey man, don't stop now I've got more stuff if you're into it. You're bound to get horny sooner or later. I got all the good stuff." The man continues walking towards the exit, "I've got bondage, I've got grannies, backdoor ramming, bestiality, or maybe your into the younger stuff this one girl is barely 12, Guaranteed fresh! " The man stops just in front of the exit and stands there for a couple seconds.

The man in black flips the sign on the door from "open" to "closed" The shop owner thinks he's got this guy in the bag and smiles, "Ooh yeah, buddy. You like that, huh? A hundred bucks and she's all yours."

The man in black is walking back to the owner and stops when he sees a crowbar on the rack and picks it up. The owner frowns, "What are you doing with that?"

The stranger reaches the counter, grabs the owner by the collar and pulls him over the counter and starts beating him over the head with a crowbar until he stops struggling.

 **Stark: Well this got dark fast….**

 **Strange: The dude deserved what was coming to him.**

 **Startk: True, but who is the man in black?**

 **Strange: It's Johnny Cash!**

 **Stark: ...Well, you're not wrong. But I mean this man in black.**

 **Strange: I guess we'll have to wait and see! MWAHAHAHA**

 **Stark: *Facepalmed* Why are you laughing?**

 **Next Chapter: Bullets With Butterfly Wings**


	3. Chapter 3

In a land far far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought in every marketplace. For most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art. And they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together in to magical guilds, they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will, no doubt, create more legends well into the future.

Its name is Fairy Tail.

Chapter 3: Bullets with Butterfly Wings

Beeping

A slow, monotone, rhythmic beeping is all Winston hears. He opens his eyes and everything is blurry. A white setting with the occasional blacks and reds. There were some blinking greens scattered about as things were coming into focus.

As things were coming into focus, Winston sees the silhouette of a person. It appears to be the robust hour glass figure of a woman can be seen. She's blonde, dressed in blue and has whip strapped to her. Damn, kinky. Winston chuckled to himself at the thought

The silhouette turns around to face the patient as things finally come into focus for him. He was in a hospital bed. The girl was a beautiful, like my god. What genetic match up needs to occur to shape a body and face that perfectly? Winston feels something warm on his face. He reaches his hand up to realize his nose was bleeding!

Winston panics and fumbles around. There were bandages all over him so he used those to wipe the nose blood away. Hopefully, she would never notice since he was technically already bleeding from every other orifice. The blondie approaches the bed and sits next to Winston. She looks him up and down before making eye contact and giving him a warm smile.

"How are you feeling?" The buxom lady asks. However, Winston was a little late to a response because he couldn't resist staring at her bountiful breasts. He tried to be a bit more gentlemanly considering he was in no position to skip first base, but alas, the head wants what the head wants 😉.

However, Winston's visual pleasure was cut short after a red-hot pain began to course through his cheek from the harshest slap anyone has ever given him. The blondie didn't seem to appreciate his staring.

"Clearly, you're doing well enough to still be a pervy criminal." This gets Winston to forget the pain.

"Okay lady, I don't know who the hell you are or why you're here, but don't go off judging people before you know them!" Winston retorted.

The woman stopped to think for a moment. After a moment, she releases an exasperated breath and recomposes herself, "I'm sorry, let's start over. My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard and my team and I were the ones that saved your life. You had several lacerations and were bleeding to death after an attack on your guild. This all leads to why I'm here."

Winston gives Lucy a questioning look. The wizard continues, "I need to know more about what was able to wipe out your whole guild…."

Meanwhile at Magnolia Butcher Shoppe…

Erza was in front of the butcher shoppe following a task on the request board. It wasn't anything major, but a concerned citizen wanted a Fairy Tail wizard to check this place out thinking that there was some sort of espionage going on.

The quest was commonly disregarded by the others because it seemed silly. The Magnolia Butcher Shoppe did fall under new management a couple weeks ago, but it was always a money maker because it would distribute meat to all of Magnolia's restaurants and markets. There's definitely an opportunity to launder money, but Fairy Tail has a strong presence in Magnolia so to set up a crime lab anywhere in the area would be either incredibly ballsy or incredibly stupid. Regardless, it's all Erza had to go on and she had a hunch that there was more to this place than meets the eye.

Erza opens the front door and walks in…

Magnolia General Hospital

Lucy was equipped with a pen and paper. She was furiously jotting down notes and picking up on every detail.

"I barely saw anything, we were partying after the raid. I was keeping to myself and trying to drink the night away. I'm a bit of a lightweight so I was on the floor by the time Erigor was preparing for a victory speech. I vaguely remember it, but there wasn't really much to remember. Thirty seconds in, Erigor had a bullet in his brain and his brains were stew.

"Next thing I knew, bullets were flying everywhere and they were dropping like flies. I don't even think we had a chance to fight back. Real pro level work. I don't remember much, but I can sum it up with loud, bloody, and merciless. All the guys met the same fate as Erigor, rest their souls…"

Winston took a moment to reflect on everything. He never really had an opportunity to mourn the loss of his brethren. He made some good comrades with the brief time he had with them. Lucy picks up on this and stops writing for a short bit. She reaches over and clutches his hand with her own. Winston clutched back, appreciative of the gesture. After a moment, the convict continued.

"I was already on the ground and tried to crawl under a table for safety. Unfortunately, I caught some bad shrapnel so I didn't get out scot free, but I'll take losing balls over a being part of the body count. Anyway, the action seemed to stop as soon as it started. My eyes were shut the whole time. I felt the dust, dirt, and blood covering me. The hits I took stung me with every movement, which didn't matter at the time since I was too scared to move. I heard the front door creak open I was so goddamn scared I was ready to piss myself. I closed my mouth, my eyes, and my ears because that was the closest I got to feeling invisible, after a couple minutes of silence and not being dead, I opened my eyes to investigate and that's when I saw it…"

"Saw what?" inquires Lucy. She was so close to getting a crucial piece to the puzzle of what happened that night, "What did you see?"

Butcher Shoppe

Erza walks up to the front counter of the shoppe. It was a brisk white with splashes of brown from dried up blood. Erza really hoped that it was animal blood from the meat, but she didn't have a sample kit to put that to the test. No one was at the counter, but there was a bell next to the metal register, presumably for this very situation.

Erza taps the bell which produces a loud, but quick *ding!*. Her call for assistance was greeted with the harsh return of stale air. No one even called to say they were busy or a one moment please. The knight waited a few moments more before ringing the bell again. She was greeted with the same sound of silence. No response, no footsteps, she didn't even hear the more atmospheric sounds of a traditional building.

Everything felt still, like this small package of space had just ceased to continue through time with everything else. The air refused to travel and the scarlet wizard felt this and it chilled her to the bone. Her very armor seemed both heavier and weightless at the same time. It wanted to hold her in place to keep her from moving.

Erza's very own magic energy seemed to reject this place and whatever lied beyond this counter. It was a feeling she's never experienced before. Erza is Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard and has taken on foes that would rival even the ten wizard saints. Granted, she's always had the love and support of her friends and allies, but in all those cases, her magic energy was as strong as she was and nothing has ever made her magic power subconsciously hold her back.

However, Erza had a job to do and she couldn't allow herself to be subdued by her own instincts. She doesn't know the stakes of the situation yet so she can't just back down yet. She quickly requipped away her standard armor into a simple white blouse, windbreaker, blue jeans, and some boots. It's the best she had in her pocket dimension that would allow her to fight or run depending on the situation. She took some time to compose herself and get her magical energy under control and promptly vaulted over the counter and approached a metal door that led to the back room.

Upon reaching the door, she realized it was already open, the cool brisk air of the refrigerated room escaping into the main room of the store. Erza stepped through. The back room was roughly square in shape with tables to both sides and another door in the back which led to the meat itself. Erza looked around and she didn't need her deduction armor to conclude what happened.

There was blood everywhere. Human blood. It was pooling in the ground and splattered on the walls like Jackson Pollock paintings. The linoleum floor was tainted in one way or another with drops of blood to bodies. There were several corpses on the ground. Each one had a singular bullet hole in his cranium. Erza had to hold back vomit, she couldn't risk contaminating the crime scene and there was more to investigate.

Erza approached the far right wall, on and under the tables were wooden crates and long matte black cases. These containers had an array of labels: "M249 Light Machine Gun", "M67 hand grenades", ".5 Caliber rounds 800 count", "M110 Semi-automatic" and more. The scariest part is that all of these crates were empty. Erza stepped away from the table and turned herself to face the store house door. She took slow pained steps to the intimidating hunk of metal. All of her instincts were telling her to run. To close her eyes, walk away and never look back. In a way, the red head knew what she would find behind this door would only cause stomach turning dread, but that didn't make this any easier. Denying the pain wouldn't stop what's happened here or what's about to happen, she needs to set her personal fears aside if she wanted to continue this investigation and help the guild. Erza clutched the door and heaved it open in one agile swing.

The store house had was long and narrow with tinted windows to allow light in, but stop anyone from looking out, or more accurately to stop outsiders from looking in. About 6 or 7 feet off the ground were rows and rows of bars that hung from the ceiling and what hung from these bars were these massive thick hooks designed to hold up the entire torsos of pigs and cows, but there were no pigs or cows hanging from these hooks…

People were hanging from them. They were dead. Erza strolled through the living nightmare. So many emotions were coursing through her very veins and none of them were good. Pity, despair, dread, anger, confusion, intrigue… and fear were all she felt. These men did not die peacefully. There final facial expressions were those of pain, misery, and hopelessness. Whoever did this definitely did not give these men quick deaths like the previous bodies she found. One had lacerations and cuts all over his body, another poor soul had his belly cut open and his innards pouring onto the floor in an unrecognizable red heap of slime. One of the hanging men was missing his arms, those limbs were thrown off to the side like sticks off the road. These men were tortured before death, their assailants definitely wanted information out of them, possibly more storage locations. She found two more men halfway through the store house. The trail of bodies ends with a corpse being strung up with the hook going through the victim's lower jaw and out of their mouth and one more of a young man, no older than 20 , being held by a shoulder, he was bloodied and battered, but he was least harmed when compared to the other men.

That's when she was it. It was ever so faint, but she saw the small release of air from an exhaled breath leave his mouth. Gently, Erza reached out touched him. This jerked the man awake with a blood curdling scream as he writhed with pain and fear.

"Calm down! Calm down! You're gonna be okay. I'm Erza, I'm here to help. You're in bad shape and we need to get you off this hook" Erza reached around and gave the injured soul a mild bear hug. The man whimpered with every movement, but things were gonna get worse before they get better. Without warning, Erza pulled up with all her might and got the man off the hook with a sickening fleshy gooey sound.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH" the poor man couldn't contain his pain and he collapsed to the floor with his new freedom, too tired and weak to even stand. Erza reached down to cradle him and put him in a more comfortable position which wasn't easy considering not one part of him was untarnished.

"I-I-I'm so-o-o cold…" the man faintly says, it was obvious that he was dying. Erza needed to act, this was her only link to what happened here and she starts to raddle off questions.

"Who are you? Why were you attacked? What were your assailants like? How well trained were they? How many people did it take to fight you back? When-, "she was cut short by the man who was shakily reaching for her. Erza stops to clutch his hand. She shunned herself for wasting this man's last moments.

"n-n-n-," Erza leans in to hear him better, "n-n-not people…this was d-d-done by…"

"…one man." Winston says stoically in his hospital bed.

Further back in the hospital, a man dressed in black with a good build is casually strolling through the hospital, nurses and patients walk pass with only a few looks of curiosity because he was a rather muscular man.  
In one smooth motion, the man pulls a compact pump action shotgun from his waist jacket and grasps it securely in his hands. A rune knight on guard glances at the man walking down the hallway which quickly becomes a look of concern as he notices the weapon the stranger brandishes. The gurad moves to intercept which went about as well as you'd expect.

"Sir, please stop ri-" the man in black elbows the guard and knocks him out instantly as the man grabs the rune knight's spear and snaps in half before discarding it. This commotion throws nearby observants into panic as everyone scrambles for safety. Four more rune knights arrive to apprehend the instigator and surround him. The man stands for only a moment before lunging right and grabbing the first rune knight's spear and thrusting it into the…errr…..pelvis….of the leftmost guard. The front guard charges, but the stranger throws the shotgun to the ground which the charging knight trips on the man in black used this time to take the helmet off the right guard and bash him in the head with it.

Using the helmet, the man charges the rear guard who was clearly hit with shock of what just happened and busted his nose with the makeshift weapon. After another quick bump to the head, the only guard left was the front one who was still recovering from his blunder. The man walked over to his shotgun, picked it up and shot a shell into the guard's leg which caused him to scream in pain, but ultimately incapacitate him. Silently, the man restarts on his initial path.

Lucy was about to disregard the sounds happening outside until she heard a gunshot. The blonde peers through the door and can't make out much, but there were some more gunshots that shot out a couple of the lights and caused others to flicker which made it harder to see. From around the corner, a silhouette appears with a gun in hand heading towards their room.

Lucy needed to act, "Winston, we need to go." She proclaims as she pulls the injured con out of the bed.

"What's happening?"

"We're in trouble. I think that guy is here to finish what he started." That's all Winston needed to hear to get his legs moving. "There's an exit to the left out of here. I'll hold him off while you make a run for it"

"What are you gonna do?"

" **CELESTIAL FORM: SAGITTARIUS** " A light surrounds Lucy as her hair went up into a singular elegant ponytail and her tank top and skirt was replaced with a green tactical leotard and separated sleeves and green mid-thigh high boots. And out of nowhere, she was equipped with a bow and arrow. "I think I can handle one guy with a gun" she says with a smirk.

On That note, Lucy busts down the room door and let's an arrow loose. It goes right through the assailant's shotgun like a knife through butter. "Now's your chance! Run for it!" Winston makes a break down the hall for the stairs.

Lucy preps another shot, takes aim, and fires, but this time the man in black is prepared and quickdraws a pistol and shot the arrow out of the air. Lucy was stunned by the reflexes and precision this stranger possesses. Lucy shakes this off and fires three more arrows at the pursing attacker, but each arrow gets shot away like the first one. The man goes on the offensive and fires two more shots. One knocks her bow out of her hands and another grazes her firing arm.

Lucy flinches in pain. She's wasting her time, she needs to catch up to Winston and make sure he's safe and doesn't run away. He's still a criminal after all. Lucy sprints away. Oddly enough, the man didn't seem to keep firing at her. She glances back to see the man was gone. Lucy takes advantage of this to catch up to Winston.

Meanwhile…

Natsu was making his way to the hospital to rendezvous with Lucy. When he was about two blocks away, his advanced senses picked up two worrying things. He smelled A LOT of gunpowder and he heard screams coming from the hospital.

This put Natsu into a sprint, he may be an idiot, but he knew that the hospital was in danger. It must be those creeps that took out Erigor and he has a bone to pick with those assholes. Natsu wanted to personally subdue Erigor and send him off to prison and that chance was taken from him. More importantly, Erigor never had a chance to fight back. He's dead and he no chance of rehabilitation or redemption and that's the most unforgivable sin of all.

Natsu hastily approached the hospital and quickly discovered that the smell of gunpowder was strongest on the roof of the building. With a hefty jump, Natsu scales the 5-story tall building.

Lucy busts out of the exit and sees Winston running away, "WINSTON!" Winston turns around, "We're running for the guild follow me!" Lucy takes a left and begins sprinting toward the guild with Winston in tow. Lucy checks back and sees no one following, maybe they're safe!

On the roof of Magnolia General Hospital, the man in black was positioned at the edge with a sniper rifle in hand. His scope was focusing in on Winston's head. Breathe in, breathe out. "One batch….two batch…. Penny and dime" The man rests his finger on the trigger, but he doesn't get to pull it

" **FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST** " Shouts Natsu as he thrusts a fire infused hand into the shooter's head knocking him away from his target. Dazed and confused, Natsu moves in to throwing a few more gut punches. The man regains his composure and throws a mean undercut to get himself some space. Natsu readjusts his jaw before moving to attack

" **FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN** " his body is consumed in fire as he lunges head first at the man, but the main is prepared as he sidesteps the attack, grabs Natsu by the collar, flips him and throws him into the wall of a doorway that leads downstairs.

Natsu collapses for a moment before throwing himself back up with rage in his eyes and he lights his hands ablaze and starts to rain punches on his combatant. Some hit, some are blocked, others were dodged and met with a counter fist as the man in black began trading fists with the Salamander, but it was becoming a losing battle for the man. He wasn't a match to Natsu in terms of raw strength and even blocked punches were doing a toll

After a couple minutes, the man retreats to the roof's edge. He's bleeding heavy and his face was bruised and bloodied. Natsu smirks a little bit knowing he won and he's got this bastard. The man, not giving in throws one more punch which Natsu preps to counter, until the fist falls and the man switches his movements and pulls out a pistol with his other hand. It was a feint!

The man placed the gun next to Natsu's head and fires a shot.

The bullet itself only grazed the dragonslayer across his left temple, but this man was smart because the shot was very well placed and abused Natsu's heightened senses. The muzzle flash blinded him, the gun's discharge vibrated and rang in Natsu's ears rendering him temporarily deaf, and the close up toxic smell of gunpowder was the only thing that Natsu could smell until he could move away. In this singular moment, Natsu Dragneel was powerless.

And that singular moment was all the man needed as he spun himself away from the ledge, holstered the pistol, equipped a pair of brass knuckle, and places an enhanced punch square in the back of Natsu's head. The chaos and imbalance causes Natsu to go careening off the hospital and hits the asphalt several stories below.

 **Strange: Sorry about the wait on this chapter. These past few weeks have been hell, but I finally got it done.**

 **Stark: What about me.**

 **Strange: Nope, all me cuz I be perfect.**

 **Stark: Anyways, he's right we've both been busy, but hopefully things will finally get done. Chapter 4 is already in the work and you're gonna love what happens next.**

 **Strange: By the way, if we never clarified it. We are taking a lot of creative liberties with this story SO PLEASE DON'T WORRY ABOUT CANON TIME LINES AND EVENTS. Just enjoy the damn story and eat your pancakes.**

 **Stark: What makes you think they're eating pancakes.**

 **Strange: Because I've got access to the NSA and I hack all of our readers' devices…**

 **Stark: That's highly illegal and I'm not even going to ask how or why**

 **Strange: Nor should you**

 **Next Chapter: Respect for the Deadman**


	4. Chapter 4

My name is Barry Allen and I'm the fastest man alive…..(Strange: SHIT, WRONG FRANCHISE, Stark: How did you get that one mixed up with War Journal?! Strange: Well exuuuuuse me! I have like 6 different stories in the process of being formatted, plus my school work, cut me some goddamn slack. Let me just reset and…..)

In a land far far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought in every marketplace. For most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art. And they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together in to magical guilds, they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will, no doubt, create more legends well into the future.

Its name is Fairy Tail.

Chapter 4: Respect for the Deadman

Fairy Tail Guild Hall, the following morning,

Our heroes gather in the guild hall the following morning. Winston was taken to the guild hall infirmary for the remainder of the night, but master suggested keeping him on the move and so Winston was currently off hiding in the same barn Lucy was hidden in when Phantom Lord attacked.

Fairy Tail's strongest team had finally reconvened except something was wrong. Natsu was missing…

"Where the hell is fire breath?" Grey asks

"Well, the plan was for him to drop off Happy and meet up with Lucy." Erza thinks out loud. The two wizards turn to the blonde wizard.

Lucy shakes her head, "I never even saw him last night. I was too busy taking care of Winston when-" before she can finish her thought, an all too familiar blue cat bursts through the front door at Mach speed and buzzing the room in a frantic reconnaissance. It was Happy, whose face ironically didn't match his own name

"Hey guys! Have any of you seen Natsu?!" Happy says in a very scared and worried demeaner. The blue cat zooms around the guild hall and can't find that recognizable pink spiky hair and this gets him even more worried and begins to shiver of the horrific possibilities.

The scarlet knight approaches the exceed. She needs him to calm down because Happy will have a better idea of where Natsu is compared to everyone else.

"Happy," Erza begins, "Do you know where Natsu is? You were the last one to see him last." The young cat had to sit and think hard for only a moment.

"I was tired and things are hazy, but I remember Natsu tucking me in and promising me lots of fish once he got back from the hospital. The last thing he told me was that he needed to rendezvous with Lucy at the hospital. I didn't know what rendezvous meant so I assumed he was going to do naughty things with Lucy," the cat snickered.

Lucy's face got extremely red and she continued to shut Happy up by placing him in a skilled headlock, "SHUT IT YOU DAMN CAT" Lucy screeched as Happy squirmed and grunted in futile escapes for freedom. All of this was observed by a small audience of Grey and Erza who could merely sweatdrop at Lucy's priorities. Was she seriously abusing a cat because it misunderstood the word rendezvous?

Erza began connecting dots and began her deductions, "Wait a minute!" Lucy scared if she went too far released Happy who flew to the bar for safety, "So Natsu was definitely en route to the hospital. So what happened to him on the way. Lucy, did you ever see him once?"

Lucy immediately remembered her initial thought, "That's what I was going to tell you! I was with Winston and he told me that everything that's happened so far has been orchestrated by a single man!"

Grey's eyes opened to the size of dinner plates while Erza maintained a somber expression. She was already aware of this and was going to bring it forward until Lucy did. Now, all she could think about was that young man dying in her arms. He was suffering to the very end and Erza was so caught up in her investigation that she never even took the seconds to learn that young man's name. Erza nodded, indicating Lucy she could continue.

"And we had to move because that man attacked us."

"WHAT?!" Erza and Grey were both in equal shock to this news this time.

Lucy continues, "Yeah, he was definitely out to take out Winston and tie up loose ends. I took him on and protected Winston so he could make an escape"

"Wait a sec, if this whole problem comes down to one guy and you fought him, why isn't he half dead and in prison? All of our problems would be solved!" Grey responded incredulously. This was a lot to take in and he was too shocked and distracted to be upset that he missed all the action.

"That's the thing," Lucy took a breath and recalled the previous night's events, "He was smart and took out the lights so it was harder to see him and he was dressed in black which didn't help. I used my Sagittarius form, but he shot my arrows out of the air! And he even shot and took out my bow! The guy had range on me and I needed to make sure Winston was okay so I had to escape! I ran away and got to Winston and the man in black didn't seem to follow us so I got the two of us away."

Erza processed every detail so far and begun to pace, "So this guy is skilled with a gun, no doubt. HE had no intentions of killing you because you'd most likely be dead if he were," that thought sent chills down Lucy's spine. She wasn't sure if she should feel lucky or terrified about what could've been, "The fact he didn't follow you directly means he took a different path to get to Winston so he was thinking tactically. And Natsu was definitely heading toward the hospital by then. It could be possible that the two had a confrontation. Lucy, did you happen to hear anymore gunshots after escaping the building?"

That's when it hit Lucy like a ton of bricks, she almost couldn't say the words. How could she forget such a minute detail? "I did…I heard one last gunshot while running. Except it was far away and definitely wasn't aimed at either of us."

No words needed to be shared. Natsu and the vigilante definitely fought, but a single gunshot plus Natsu missing the next morning was not a good combination to think about…

"NO. I WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT. **REQUIP: FLIGHT ARMOR** " Erza's body glowed until she was dressed in her fastest armor. A simple cheetah print bikini model designed to increase Erza's inhuman speed tenfold.

"I'm heading to the hospital!" and with that, she was out the door and gone. On the balcony, the master watched everything with a sober expression. "Please be safe, my child."

Magnolia General Hospital

Erza arrived in no time at all. She did a quick analysis of the building.

There were more guards at the entrances. After last night events, the hospital wanted some extra security to avoid another fiasco.

Assessing what Lucy mentioned, the vigilante and Natsu most likely fought on the roof. Erza lurched forward at full speed toward the nearest hospital wall. The force of her steps keeps her traction as the knight scales the wall to reach the roof in almost no time at all. Once on top, Erza glanced around. After not immediately seeing the pink haired dragon slayer, she continued her search back and forth across the building. It didn't take long to confirm it was barren.

Erza was getting anxious, her breathing was slightly accelerated as she tried to process what could have happened. That's when it came to her. The scarlet speedster ( **Stark: Dude, really? Strange: What? Stark: You wrote Erza as the Flash again, what the hell is wrong with you? Strange: Oh well exxuuuuuse me! I'm trying to think of other Erza synonyms and I'm not wrong! She's a** _ **scarlet**_ **haired person in her** _ **speedster**_ **armor. Stark: *sigh* okay fine, but this is strike two, now get back to the goddamn story. Strange: I will, you futurist jackass!** ) ran as fast as she could to run another scan of the roof, this time looking at the actual floor and surroundings.

That's when she saw it. Erza confirmed her suspicions with small splashes of blood near the edge of the southern side of the building. It was still fresh. The redhead went into autopilot and began to drag her feet toward the edge of the hospital. She prayed that this blood belonged to the vigilante or anything that could imply Natsu's safety, but all the evidence was pointing toward a grim reality

Erza peaked down into the alley down below. She picked out a figure sprawled prostrate on the ground amongst all the trash and filth in a small crater made from a fall. The person was bloodied all over, but there was one bright glimmer of color. On the victim's head, though matted with blood, was a small touch of natural pink hair…

Erza broke her stupor, leaped off the roof, and gracefully landed next to Natsu, "Natsu! Are you okay? Can you hear me right now?!" Erza waited for a response to no avail. Next step, she leaned her ear right up to his face. After what felt like eternity, Erza picked up a faint inhale. It was faint, weak, and short, but it was there. Natsu was alive!

Erza reached down and attempted to pick up Natsu, but the moment she got her arms under him, the Dragneel began to moan and whine with pain, he was beaten up pretty bad. "Hang tight, I'll get some help!" with that, she ran to the main doors and scanned for someone who could help her dear friend. But there was so much going. Nurses and doctors were sprinting to and fro, and those that couldn't were busy moving patients and medicine.

A nearby nurse caught a glance of Erza and bolted over, "Do you need medical attention?"

Erza was taken aback by her cruel glare and cold tone, "W-well, not me personally, but I nee-"

"Sorry, we're swamped. Don't need you. SECURITY! Get her out!" With that command, guards surrounded her in a way to immediately evacuate her presence from the emergency room. Erza didn't have time for this, time for plan B. Erza ran back to Natsu.

Upon her return, Erza got right back under Natsu and lifted him rather roughly. This caused the beaten wizard to squirm and flinch at such minute movements, with a look of pity, Erza said, "I'm so sorry, Natsu" and she sprinted off with her friend.

Sometime later, at Fairy Tail Guild Hall

Natsu was rushed into the infirmary by Erza and she wasted no time running back out of the guildhall and returning with Porlyusica. The healer wasn't too happy about her sudden change of scenery to civilization, but she reluctantly agreed to treating Natsu's wounds.

At this time, Erza was sitting at the bar with the master and her fellow guildmates. She spent a lot of her magical supply to get everything done and she needed a break. Her good deed didn't get much recognition from the guild because of the very nature of who she was saving. Fairy Tail's most charismatic member has a foot in the grave and they don't even know the identity of the mastermind responsible.

Elfman and Mirajane were having an aside confirmation while overlooking the guild, "Who do you think could've done this to Natsu?" the she-demon could barely get out her words because of her newfound struggle of holding back tears. The last person she saw that beaten and broken was Lisanna and she didn't want to think about losing another loved one.

"Well, there's no way of really knowing, but he must be strong. Natsu is like an unofficial S-Class wizard, so this guy is no push over. But he's not a real man. A real man likes the color purple and doesn't leave good men for dead!"

Mira looked up, "What? Why did you include that whole purple bit?"

Elfman puffed his chest, "a real man is comfortable with his masculinity and likes PURPLE!"

The platinum blonde temporarily forgot her sadness and sweatdropped at her brother's stupidity, "Okay little brother…"

Meanwhile…

The front doors creaked open and two strangers walked in. A man and a woman. The woman had straight dark red hair similar to Erza's… if Erza used goat's blood as shampoo. She had a decent physique and had two….assets that caught the attention of Fiore's perviest master. The man was tall with short black hair. He had spiked looking goatee and he wore straight black aviator sunglasses. Both of these newcomers were dressed in identical black suits with black ties.

Makarov leaps and plops himself promptly in front of these two, "State your purpose for coming to Fairy Tail, we are in the midst of a crisis and we don't need more problems right now."

The man smirked at this threat which took the observing members by surprise that this man just shook off the master's threat. The man opened his mouth and began to speak, "Relax pop pop, we aren't here to rain on your freak show. We're actually here to help," this man had a very smug and cocky tone of voice, but he also commanded authority. The blatant insult practically went unnoticed because he said it so smoothly, "I am Agent Tony and my lovely partner her is Agent Natasha. For the sake of discrepancy, that's all the backstory you'll hear from us. We're from a counter-terrorism intelligence agency."

Makarov and the rest of Fairy Tail were befuddled, Makarov verbalized this, "Why would such an organization be getting involved here in Magnolia?"

"That's the millions of dollars in property damage question!" Agent Tony exclaimed, "We've been hired by the king of Fiore to investigate a high priority suspect in a series of killings across Fiore. This suspect is solely responsible for murdering countless criminals and dismantling drug rings like it's his goddamn birthright. We analyzed his trail and deduced his next stop would be Magnolia hence why you've been graced with our company. You're welcome."

This was a lot of information to take in, but it didn't take a genius for those who knew that this must be the vigilante that took out Natsu.

Makarov responded, "So, you must know that one of our guild members had to deal with this 'suspect' of yours."

Tony smirked, "Exactly, we need help and you have motive, we can work together and solve both of our problems at the same time."

Makarov gives a knowing nod, "Do you have any idea who this vigilante could be."

"I might!" Everyone turns around to face Grey, "last night, I was the one assigned to gather information and I might know who exactly is behind all of this. Come here." The agents, Makarov, Lucy, Erza, and few others gathered around the ice mage to understand his discovery.

"So, these agent guys probably could've figured it out if you looked back far enough, because Hallowing Wind had a lot of connections to other dark guilds and they corroborated frequently. One thing these small alliances agree is on this, 'No witnesses even if that means no survivors'. In other words, these guys either kill no one or everyone."

Natasha gave him a quizzical look, "We knew all of that, get to the point we're wasting daylight."

Grey continued, "If you look at the 'kill everyone' cases, there was actually one survivor!" This took even the agents by surprise; how did they miss this detail? "At Carousel Park in Crocus, a family of 4 had decided to take a picnic. Unfortunately, they put themselves right in the middle of a failed sting operation set up by the local authorities to catch some drug runners."

The guild went somber at the grim reality of a family ripped apart for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The agents remained stone cold and analytical. They've seen their fair share of war crimes, it's become desensitizing.

As Grey moved on, he pulled out a couple of files and set them out in front of his audience, "Here's the thing, there was a survivor, the father named Frank Castle" this left a shockwave of surprise and Grey wasn't even done yet and Makarov began to scratch his head in deep thought. Grey pulled out an x-ray of a skull he had kept in the folder and he showed it to the enthralled viewers. Nothing about it seemed unusual, except on the skull's right upper side was a small precise hole, "Frank Castle took a bullet to his brain and survived…"

"WHAT?!" Unanimously, everyone's jaws hit the floor and you can hear the dying wisp of a "man…" by Elfman. After a quick recollection of wits, everyone one resorted and regrouped to let Grey finish.

"Frank would've died, but he got lucky and a super skilled neurosurgeon was able to extract the bullet and save his life. I think this has to be the vigilante because he's the only survivor and he lost his whole family and he wants revenge. I know what it's like to live with a vendetta like that so I know there isn't much that would stop him from achieving it."

Tony approaches Grey with a single slow clap. Once next to the ice mage eh gives him hearty slap on the back followed with a friendly rub, "Good job champ. I'm proud of you, we could use skills like that in the agency. Make sure to give us a call."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Mira shouts. Everyone turns their attention to her, "If you're this 'super-secret intelligence gathering agency' why didn't you figure it out?" Everyone turns to face Tony. Natasha chuckles at the sudden pressure on her partner and just says, "I think Tony can answer that one"

Tony looks at his partner turned traitor and reels himself back to the agitated magic guild, "I…admit to not doing a thorough investigation. I read on the Carousel Park case and thought nothing of it when I got to Frank Castle. I assumed a bullet in the head was instant death and skipped over his case file entirely, but who wouldn't?! I bet each of you would have made the same mistake!"

A random member shouts, "Grey didn't" clearly Fairy Tail didn't need Natsu to dish out burns.

Tony took time to recover and continued, "Anyway, we didn't have any confirmed identity and legally we still don't until we can catch him and/or officially identify him so we gave him an alias:"

"…The Punisher."

It was coincidentally at this moment that the right dots connected in Makarov's brain and he had a dark moment of realization.

"Grey, hold on a minute! Are you absolutely certain this man is Frank Castle?!" Makarov said agitated. A tone rarely heard by his constituents.

"…Yeah? I have his case file here and I've gone through it God knows how many times. Why the sudden interest? It even sounds like you know this Frank Castle guy in some way." Grey inquires. This gets everyone else riled up and the poor old master was being verbally assaulted on all sides by his guild and the agents.

"will you…. **SHUT UP!"** putting some magic behind his voice, everyone goes silent in fear of sparking the master's wrath. The old man calms down and hops on top of the bar, "I've painted myself into a corner and I owe you all an explanation."

Everyone gathers around Gramps as he begins his lecture,

"Let me tell you the true story of Frank Castle…"

 **Strange: Once again, I'm sorry y'all. Stark and I are freshmen in college and honestly this whole thing is more of a side project to let loose creatively.**

 **Stark: Yeah, he has a point. I haven't even technically posted my own story yet, Strange has done all the writing.**

 **Strange: Bout time I get credited for this!**

 **Stark: I didn't say it was good writing…**

 **Strange: Oh, don't you start with me now. Or I'm gonna…**

 **Stark: Okay please don't! Even this site has standards for M ratings and I don't want to get banned.**

 **Strange: pfft. Fine! Anyway, I have this whole story arc outlined and ready to go, it's just a mtter of writing it. So I might be able to get more done in the summer so hope and pray!**

 **Next Chapter: Soldiers**


	5. Chapter 5

In a land far far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought in every marketplace. For most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art. And they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together in to magical guilds, they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will, no doubt, create more legends well into the future.

Its name is Fairy Tail.

Chapter 5: Soldiers

 **35 years ago…**

Master Makarov was minding his own business in the Fairy Tail guild hall. He had recently taken over the guild from the previous master and while hesitant at first, he's slowly worked his way into comfort. Makarov taught himself to understand the guild was not just friends and work associates, but a family. Which means it should be treated as such instead of a business like he was approaching it at first.

The new master had posted himself on the firs- floor bar. Everyone appreciated his sentiment to be down to earth with his children, but in reality, he just wanted quick access to alcohol (But you didn't hear that from me).

The master was taking a strong swig of beer when he heard the front door open. He peered over his glass and he saw a little boy. The boy was skipping through the guild with no fear, a wide grin on his face. He had short black hair and the brightest blue eyes you could imagine. They were almost piercing through the master. They were absolutely beautiful.

The boy approaches a teenage Gildarts who was at a nearby table taking a well-deserved rest after another hard mission. The boy gives the destructive mage a small poke to get his attention. Gildarts turns around and sees it's just a child and give him a smile. The boy took this as permission to ask, "Hi there! Who's the master, here?"

Gildarts smirks and points to Makarov, "It'll be that old man over there" poking fun at the poor master.

The master made a mental note to beat that brat later, but he couldn't focus on that as this child approached with a huge smile. Like it looked like the smile would rip his cheeks open. It was that big. Makarov steps down to be at the boy's level, "Hello there young man! I am the master of Fairy Tail! Can I know your name?"

The boy nodded, "My name is Francis Castiglione! I really want to join Fairy Tail! It's my dream to be a wizard and help people."

Makarov chuckles, "Of course my boy, we're always looking for new members. Give us a moment and we can give you a stamp now!" oddly enough, the boy grabs the master from leaving with an anxious look on his face.

"Actually…I don't know any magic and I never checked to see if I'm even capable to hold magic. But I really want to join!" Makarov frowns for just a moment to think.

"Don't fret my boy! We have a miniature MPF To determine your magic levels. We always like to have one on hand for situations like yours." This was all Francis needed to rejuvenate his attitude and hope, "Follow me, my boy. Gildarts, go find the mini-MPF in storage and meet us in my office."

Gildarts shrugs and complies as he goes on his minor quest while Francis and Makarov left for the office. After a few minutes, Gildarts joins them with the MPF. It was a small compact box colored in a mild golden hue. A small purple orb was attached at the end. On the box was a simple button and a display window for the holder. Makarov pressed the button and the machine whirred to life. The display window read [000]. If there's even a shred of magic in him, then at least 1 should appear after Francis punches the orb. Gildarts had a strange feeling about this kid, so he decided to stick around to see what he could do.

Makarov addresses the newcomer, "Alright Francis, are you left handed or right handed?"

"Right handed."

"Okay, so what I want you to do is focus all of your inner strength and concentration into your right hand. On my mark, I want you to punch this orb right here with your right hand as hard as you can. I want you to put your soul behind this punch. Can you do that?" Makarov didn't really need a response. This boy has the most heart he's ever seen in anyone and his passion alone should get his magic flowing if he has any.

"Yes sir!" Francis says enthusiastically before closing his eyes and clenching his right fist.

After a short moment of silence and anticipation, the master shouts, "NOW!"

On the command, Francis Castiglione puts his heart into punching that MPF like it was the baddest of the bad guys. With a loud *CRACK* he punches the orb. There was undoubtedly a lot of force on it for a child, but the MPF doesn't measure the force of the punch, just the magic behind it. So, the outcome should be just the same.

The small machine begins processing information. The clicks and buzzing of the inner workings beginning to put together the proper number to be displayed on screen. Francis couldn't handle the anxiety and he covered his eyes as the number displayed for Makarov and Gildarts to observe…

Makarov is the first to speak, "I'm sorry, there's no magic potential in your body."

Francis looks up almost terrified. It can't be! There must've been a mistake. This can't be happening to him. He looks to the master. His face is grim and disappointed for having to break such harsh news, to a child no less. Gildarts looked down towards the machine, up to Francis, and then he gave a frown to the master. He didn't say a word as he let the situation develop and began to think of how to help Francis feel better.

Francis was beginning to let tears loose and there's nothing more depressing than a crying child so Makarov was quick to act before Gildarts could do anything, "Now, now my boy, your love of Fairy Tail is strong. Even stronger than some of the others here! And I'm not going to just let you go and be on your way, alright?"

This doesn't quite stop his tears, but this does grab the boy's curiosity as he nods for the master to continue, "While I'm not legally allowed to declare you a member and give you a stamp, I think you should still be able to find a home in Fairy Tail. Feel free to join us every day, make friends, and who knows may be work for us in some smaller jobs. What'd you say?"

This does the job as Francis lights up and his energy is restored! "Yes Sir!" The boy runs out and leaves the two wizards behind to begin to meet the guild.

 **Over the next 11 years** , Francis spends almost all of his time with Fairy Tail becoming a very welcome and beloved unofficial member. When he wasn't in school, Francis would even act as the Guild's bartender. He would crack jokes, play pranks to build up everyone's spirits and he'd even be the first to console anyone in distress or sadness. He was an iconic part of the guild and he didn't know a lick of magic.

He was the most charismatic 'member' of the guild for the time.

A now 16-year-old Francis Castiglione walks into the guild for the day and is greeted with a warm welcome from every wizard inside. Some walk up to crack a few jokes and cheesy insults, but Francis is more solemn then usual today. He wasn't necessarily sad, more like anxious. The guild themselves are hit with a bad omen when they see what Francis was wearing. He was dressed in camouflaged military drafts. This was enough to throw every single member out of whack and to figure out what's going on.

The master, in his usual place at the bar, hops down when he sees Francis' outfit as he approaches.

Francis is the first to break the silence, "Pops, there's no easy way to say this so I'm telling you everything now at once. I've joined the Marines. I'm being deployed to Yuenan in a couple days. I'm going to be away for several years and this may be the last time I see you. So I wanted to say good bye."

The guild erupted…

"How did you go through combat training and have none of us find out?!"

"How did you even join?! You aren't even old enough to join the Marines anyway!"

"Are you actually crazy?!"

"Why would you leave us like this?!"

And who knows what else was being shouted, but the Master has had enough.

" **QUIET!** " The master silences the guild, "Before you go, I think you owe your friends a couple answers."

Francis nods to this and sets his thoughts straight before beginning, "I faked my age to join. 16 isn't too far from 18 so the recruiter didn't notice. And I've been training in early mornings and late evenings. You guys wouldn't notice anything having changed in my work schedule. Anything else?"

Gildarts stepped forward, "Francis, remember when you and I were talking? We all knew you needed a bigger future outside of Fairy Tail eventually, but why the military? You said you were considering being a damned priest! When did that transition happen?"

Francis smirked, "I was considering being a priest for a while, but I found out that the confessional part is a little too difficult for me so I gave up on it. And I want to serve my country in one way or another. The military is just the most direct route. There's nothing you can do to change my mind, alright?"

The guild soon erupted again, this time with pleas for the teen to stay with them. Some people were offering money, favors, food, drinks, rewards, some women even offered their bodies just to get Francis to stay, but it was impossible to really make out anything from the noise.

The master needs to gain control again so he harnesses another shout to quell the members' cries for Castiglione to stay, "Francis, are you certain this is the path you want to take"

Francis nods.

"In that case, we can do nothing to stop you. All we can do is wish you the best of luck as you continue to grow and mature. So, everyone, how about we give our own Francis Castiglione a proper Fairy Tail resignation!"

"YES SIR!" everyone shouts simultaneously. At this, everyone gathers outside at the front doors of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall with a small semi-circle surrounding Francis.

The master begins to shout at Francis everyone else shooting magical beams of energy into the sky:

"There are three rules for leaving Fairy Tail!

"ONE: You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live!

"TWO: You must never user former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain.

"THREE: Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider you own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends who loved you!"

Francis had a few tears, but he gave his biggest smile yet as he waved good bye to his family.

 _Present:_

" _I'll never forget the smile he had that day, it was so big, pure, and innocent. I would never see him smile that way again. But I would see a smile like it again when notice joined the family. I actually saw a lot of Francis in Natsu when I first found him. It's still a bittersweet feeling._

Back to the past:

 **10 years later…**

The guild was in a mild manner. It was a getting late and most of the members had gone home for the night. All that was left was Master Makarov. He was preparing to close down the guild for the night so he could go to bed, but he wanted to stay loyal to the hours just in case a member might come back from a quest or anything. You never know when someone might need help.

Just his luck, someone did come. Two people as a matter of fact. The door opened and a very well-built man in a decorated military uniform was marching through the door. He wasn't alone. In his arms, he was coddling a child. A little six year old girl with scarlet red hair. However, she was dressed in rags and she had an eyepatch on. Despite her appearance, she was sleeping comfortably with her head resting on his shoulder sound asleep.

Makarov was very off put by this weird display in front of him which put him on guard. That was until the man looked up to face the master and Makarov made the shocking connection.

"Francis?" inquired the elderly man?

The now identified former 'member' stops just short of the master of Fairy Tail, "Hiya, Pops. Looking as young as ever." The soldier says slyly.

A vein pops at the implied insult, "Shut it you! You've been gone for so long you have no right to say that!"

Francis chuckles and holds up a hand to calm the master down. Makarov takes a moment and recomposes himself, "What are you doing here, Francis?"

The young man begins to speak, "I need to catch you up on a couple things. I'm not Francis Castiglione anymore. You can call me Frank Castle." The now Frank says with a small smile.

Makarov raises an eyebrow, "Frank huh? Why the change? Your old name was lovely."

Frank shakes his head lightly, "Thanks, but I changed my name to keep touring after I took one too many injuries. I pulled some strings and I was able to get a clean record and keep my rank. I also used the opportunity to join a special operations unit. I had just got back from a mission and I brought this one home with me," he nods his head to gesture to the girl he was holding in his arms.

The master looks toward the redhead with a look of concern as Frank continues, "Her name is Erza, Erza Scarlet. I rescued her from….her current situation. I'm not ready or prepared to take care of her and she has a load of magic power in her so I thought best to take her here. I figured you'd be the best man for the job."

The master doesn't even hesitate, "Thank you…Frank. Take her upstairs to the infirmary. Fairy Tail will take very good care of her."

Frank complies and quietly rushes her up to the infirmary. Frank places the young one-eyed girl on the bed and tucks her into the sheers as best as he could. The little Erza snuggles in with ease and if you looked closely, there was a small smile. Frank stood up to leave when he felt something grab his right hand. He turns and sees the girl holding on to him. Frank couldn't help, but smile. He leans down and whispers something to her and he gently forces her to let go so he could return to the main hall.

Frank rushes himself to the main hall to promptly face his former father figure, "Well, I best be off. Thank you so much for your help, Pops."

Makarov gives the soldier a curious look, "Leaving so soon?"

Castle shakes his head, "No sir, I used my one day of leave to get her here and even then I may or may not have went against direct orders of taking her here. It's best if I leave as soon as possible."

The old master shrugs, "Oh please Francis err. Frank. You can't spare a couple more minutes. I want to hear about all the adventures you must've gone on in the military. There's ten years' worth of material from both of us to catch up on!"

Frank's face went dark, "I'd rather not talk about it."

Makarov is shocked, but he figured it's best to leave that Pandora box closed, "Alright my boy, but please try and visit more often if you can."

Frank Castle nods before turning and marching off into the night…

 **4 years later…**

A new generation of Fairy Tail has emerged in these following years. Natsu Dragneel is found to become Fairy Tail's first dragon slayer, Grey finds the guild following his past of Deliora and adhering to the words of his past master. The strauss siblings, Cana, Jet, Levy, and more! The time for change was nigh!

On this day, everyone was up to their usual hijinks. Grey and Natsu were brawling (I bet this will only be a childhood thing). Buckets of fire and ice rods being shot in every direction and the two boys badly bruised after constant dueling.

"I hate you, coal breath!" Grey shouts.

"Go suck a popsicle!" Natsu retorts.

"Won't you both shut up!" Erza intervenes and ends the fight by TKOing both children with single punches, "you two need to learn that violence isn't the answer when you don't like someone."

"Yeah, listen to flat-chest." A certain demon shouts.

"You wanna go, Demon whore?!" Erza screams at Mira, sword drawn.

With that, the two young ladies begin to (totally unironically) duke it out with each other which causes more property damage and fear than Natsu and Grey could ever muster.

Makarov looks on in dread as he prayed to a higher power that things don't get too intense and that this won't be the only time these kids fight (these prayers would fall on VERY deaf ears).

His current prayer is interrupted when the guild doors swing open and a man silhouetted by light walks in. It was a well-muscled young man with slicked black hair. He was wearing blue jeans, a white shirt and a black wind breaker with tan combat boots. Makarov quickly identified the stranger as Frank!

Castle walks through the guild unnoticed minus the few glances of curiosity he got from some of the other members. Makarov knew Fran wasn't going to get a welcome back party because most of his friends from back in the day have either left or forgotten him. It's been over decade since he left and everything about the boy who left was drastically different about the man who returned.

Frank smoothly approaches the bar and sits next to the master, "Hi Pops, how're you doing?"

"You do a real cruddy job at coming back more frequently," the master's quip gets a hefty chuckle from the war veteran.

"Yeah yeah, I've been busy. But it's been a good kind of busy these past couple years. It's why I'm here," Frank explains to the master.

Makarov raises an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"I met a girl, Maria. I actually married her a couple years ago." Frank holds up his left hand to show the old man a golden wedding band, "We just had our first child and I've been trying to be a proper father and husband for the both of them."

Makarov is absolutely dumbfounded, "That's incredible Frank! Congratulations! Is that why you decided to drop by?"

Frank nods, "I promised to keep you updated, and I live a little far away so my schedule needed to align for this meeting."

Makarov nods in understanding, "Well, I appreciate you taking another leave of absence to stop by and say hi to an old kook like me"

Frank lets out another chuckle, "I'm not technically in active duty anymore. I'm just a military instructor now. It allows me to stay in work in what I'm good at, but I still have time for my family. I'm hoping to leave that part of my life behind me entirely though. I want to dedicate the rest of my time here to watching my family grow and taking care for the ones I love the most."

Makarov smiles, "Like a true Fairy Tail wizard. I'm proud of you, Frank. How about a drink before you hit the road?"

Frank gives a small smile and nods, "I'd like that old man."

The master preps to mugs filled to the brim with beer, "Oi, don't go calling me old, you're a father now! You'll be old and cranky like me soon enough. Just you wait."

"I'll drink to that," the two bring their mugs together before downing them in a single swig.

"Well, I'm going to head out now, thanks for the afternoon." Frank stands up from his stool and preps himself as he heads for the exit. Makarov follows to see his old student off.

"Make sure to come by again as soon as you can!" the master exclaims too the veteran.

"hehe, sure thing. Good bye, Pops." And with that Frank Castle makes for his home.

Makarov couldn't help but smile and reminisce about the good ol' days. His nostalgia was quickly dashed away as overheard the smashing of tables and dollar signs began to float around the master's head.

"Damn, if he was a wizard, I'd just make Frank the master and retire early."

 **1 year ago…**

It's another late night at the guild. The guild hall was dead silent, but it was filled with Fairy Tail mages. Everyone had passed out after a hard night of partying and drinking like it was the end of the world. The only person who was still conscious and functioning was Fairy Tail's very own Master Makarov. He was at his usual spot on the bar counter top currently dealing with the paperwork from the magic council for the destruction. This mail is what keeps him busy 99.9% of the time. Can't he just get a warm letter or a postcard every once in a while. He was happy to deal with the council for the sake of his children, but this much paper and number crunching can be very demoralizing. It was a long day and the shroud darkness of sleep was waiting to take the old man for the night, but the paper was due, and Makarov did not need to pay extra for late fees so he persevered.

The old man felt a minor gust of air and the feeling of being watched. Makarov looked up to see a figure shrouded in black clothing standing right in front of him.

Makarov quickly jumped into a defensive stance out of shock and fear. He took a closer look and saw the figure's face looking right at him. The face felt foreign and unrecognizable, but he would recognize those blue eyes anywhere. It was Frank Castle.

Frank wore black boots, black pants, a black waist jacket which covered a black hoodie. Said hood was pulled over the man's head, covering his head.

The old master relaxed, "Jesus Frank, you scared the hell out of me. How did you even do that?! It's not every day that someone sneaks up on me, let alone someone who can't use magic." He wasn't afraid to be vocal. Everyone else in the room had blacked out from the alcohol, the guild could explode and not one of them would wake up.

Frank just shrugged. The master noticed something was off with Frank. His clothes were sloppily worn and stained. There was half empty bottle of whiskey in the ex-veteran's right hand. There even seemed to be a dark aura surrounding him.

Something had changed, "What is it, Frank? Did something happen?"

Frank just nods.

He opens his mouth, he struggles with his words, "it-it's my wife and…"

Castle can't finish what he wanted to say as his voice just dies mid-sentence.

 _Present:_

 _I made a mistake on this day, I had assumed that he was going through a divorce or some type of lady troubles. I spent the next five or so minutes trying to give him stereotypical relationship advice. Even if it was what he was going through, it was still terrible advice so I made things worse by every sense of the word._

After those five minutes, Frank just closes his eyes and shakes his head, "This was a mistake, coming here."

With that, Frank downs the rest of the whiskey and tosses the bottle behind the bar. Frank began to walk back towards the front door.

"Frank? Where are you going?" The soldier didn't even turn around to acknowledge him.

Makarov hopped down and began to follow, "Frank, what are you going to do?" he asks, afraid the depressed man will do something irrational.

Frank Castle is at the exit. He turns to face the old master, "something stupid." Then he turns around the corner out of sight.

Makarov runs to stop Castle from leaving and he exits the building and looks toward the direction Frank left, but there was no one there. He disappeared just as quickly and mysteriously as he arrived…

 **The present day..**

The master looks up to his observers they looked beaten and even betrayed by this baggage the master never cared to reveal, "I never knew what to do or how to find him, he never gave enough information to me. He probably didn't out of habit. I always assumed by 'something stupid' he meant he was going to take his own life."

The master took a breath, "Now that I think about it, he must've come to me that night soon after his family's murder and his surgery. He was probably hoping to find a connection, but I ultimately pushed him away for making assumptions."

Agent Tony approaches the master, "So, are you saying you're responsible for the Punisher? I'm not implying you'll face charges. If we took the butterfly effect into account, every citizen would be in prison for something."

The master snapped, "Now you back the hell up! Don't call him that. His name is Frank or Francis, but don't call him by the silly alias."

Agent Tony shakes his head, "Unfortunately, your sob story can't legally change anything so this guy is still The Punisher." Tony throws on his sunglasses, "So deal with it."

Most of the guild erupts into minor chaos. Half of everyone gangs up on Agent Tony for being s disrespectful, while the other half assaults the aster with questions about why he didn't tell them about such a prevalent piece of guild history. However, there was one person who was lost in her own world.

Erza.

The knight had to access her long lost memories after her Master's tale. And those memories hit her like a ton of bricks.

 **14 years ago, in Erza's past…**

A six year old Erza was in the Tower of Heaven. She and her friends tried to start a riot to liberate the prisoners to free Jellal and escape their own hell. However, everything took a turn for the worst when Jellal went crazy and took the power for himself. All in the name of his new Lord Zeref.

Everyone was reinstated into their chains and Erza lost her eye when she tried to literally knock some sense into Jellal. The blue haired child-warden didn't like that too much and reprimanded her fiercely.

He got his new guards to throw her into a jail cell which is where this flashback begins. Jellal didn't want to take chances and placed two guards to specifically watch over the scarlet haired girl.

Erza was whimpering in pain as she had fresh wounds that were not healing fast enough. The poor girl had lost her last shred of hope and now she just wanted to die.

*pfft*

*pfft*

The soft bursts of air rattled in her ears. These sounds were followed by..

*thud*

*thud*

Erza opened her eyes confused by these abnormalities and she wanted to investigate. Her search was greeted with one of her guards facing her dead on the ground. A single hole pierced through his forehead which was spilling blood profusely. Before she could even process that someone else has died before her, a young man jogs into view. He seemed very on guard, checking the nearby hallway and corners before returning to Erza.

The young redhead now got a chance to observe this stranger. He was dressed in black drafts and body armor placed strategically over his torso, arms, and legs, with a multipurpose helmet to protect his skull from the same fate of his victims. He was armed with a black assault rifle that had multiple tactical attachments. There was a simple handgun strapped to his leg and extra magazines were littered on his body in various pockets. He was clearly a soldier.

The unknown attacker searched one of the guards and pulled out a key, he uses it to unlock Erza's door and enters promptly. The young girl retreats to a corner in fear.

"Woah, woah, woah. It's okay," the man whispers calmly. He takes off his helmet to reveal his slicked black hair and face. His blue eyes seemed super bright to the redhead, "my name is Frank Castle, but you can call me Franky. I'm here to rescue you." He finishes with a warm smile. He extends his right hand for her to grab.

The young child reluctantly crawls toward the hand and grabs it. She' been through hell and she needed someone to trust and this man just happened to appear at the right place at the right time.

At the gesture, Frank smiles and moves into give her a small hug which she greatly appreciates and the man picks her up, "What's your name?" he asks.

"E-Erza…"

"What a beautiful name, how about your last name?"

"Oh ummm. I never really had a last name.." the young girl says embarrassed.

"Hmm, now that won't do," Frank says with a raised eyebrow.

After a quick thought Frank gets an idea, "How about this, Let's make your last name Scarlet in honor of your gorgeous scarlet hair."

Erza holds her own hair before looking up to Frank, "I like that!" She says with a smile. Frank smiles bac as they leave the cell to be greeted with more armed men in black.

Erza hides her face at the new company, "shhh, it's okay, Erza. This is the rest of my squad."

Erza looks up to see each of them as Frank continues to name his team from left to right, "First we got sergeant Matt Murdock, then privates Miles Morales, Peter Parker, and Wade Wilson, and over hear we have- "

"I'm Lieutenant Steve Rogers. And you Captain Castle, put this whole op at risk just to save one girl!"

"Sorry sir, I was following a hunch. I grew up with wizards and I felt magic from over here. I figured there'd be others who could be of use."

Rogers shakes his head, but ultimately just waves his hand. He knew that Frank could handle himself with no trouble, but that doesn't mean it doesn't scare the shit out of him every once in a while.

Steve regroups his men, "Alright let's get to work, we're on a time table and there are some people in need of help."

The next hour or so was spent liberating some more prisoners, Frank Castle wasn't as useful as Erza was attached to his hip and he couldn't do much while he protected her.

After a while," Alright, let's head out. We've done what we can." Rogers says.

Murdock gets a look of concern, "but sir, there's still more prisoners. We can't just leave them."

"We can and we will," Steve explains, "We only have so much space on our escape boat, and even less supplies. If we bring anymore with us, we run the risk of capsizing the boat and/or starving at sea. This is the best we can do with the cards we were dealt. Now let's move to the rendezvous"

And that was the end of the discussion, the squad knew when to cut their losses, it wasn't their first rodeo with tough choices.

"We can't just leave them, they'll die!" Erza cries.

Frank brings her in close, "I'm so sorry Erza, I don't want to let them die either, but I have my orders, I can't do anything."

"No no no no no!" tears began to develop in her eyes.

Rogers looks toward the commotion, "Castle, shut the brat up! We don't need any more attention to our location."

Frank didn't know what else to do, but to hug Erza and bury her head in his shoulder. HE reaches under her and picks her up as they get a move on.

After a sometime, the liberated and the liberators are approaching the dock. Suddenly… a magic shot is fired and hits the ground in front of the squad!

Debris goes flying and hits Matt Murdock in the eyes as he collapses to the ground. Everyone scatters to cover and Wilson grabs Matt to pull him out of harm's way. Wade goes to asses Matt's injuries and realizes that his comrade was blinded by the impact to his eyes.

Morales from behind a wall to assess the situation and get a body count, "I got a status report! I count 89 tangos shooting the shit out of us!"

"Fuck!" Steve Rogers says, "Protect civilians, bring down some suppressing fire while we try and move to the boat!"

Erza was hiding her face, her magic was rising which didn't go unnoticed by Frank, but she was too scared to try again after what happened last time. Castle checks his pockets and starts counting his rounds. He turns to Erza.

"Erza, I'm going to do something really stupid, I'll be back in no time, but I need you to do something for me." Frank explains.

Erza is shocked, "No! Don't go! You'll die!" Frank shakes his head.

"I need you to stay here and trust me. Can you do that? Have faith in me, please!" Erza heard these words and was so scared, but she looked into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes.

Erza reluctantly said, "okay."

Frank nodded, "Cover me!" he shouts as he vaults from cover and charges the enemy line.

"Castle, you dumbass!" Steve says, but he turns to his squad "You heard the man!" with that, the squadron laid down some suppressing fire for their brave and stupid comrade.

With Frank, he breaks into one of the structures and see his first target. He fires off one shot and appropriately gets one kill as a head shot. He just says, "one."

…

Over the next half hour, the enemy fire slowly begins to die out and eventually the whole battlefield goes silent. The squad takes the opportunity to get the liberated slaves moving, but Erza refuses to move a muscle.

Wade kneels down to face the little girl, "come on little one, you're free!"

"NO!" Erza shouts, "I'm waiting for Franky."

This causes the soldier to wince, but he peers over behind the redhead and chuckles, "Oh, so you get to call him Franky? I had to earn the right to call him that without getting my ass beat. And I don't think you should worry." He points to something behind Erza.

Erza spins around and sees a lone figure standing alone in the battlefield walking toward the group. It was Frank and he was practically covered in blood. His face stone cold. Behind him laid 89 separate bodies.

Erza practically galloped to Frank and jumped up to hug him not caring about the blood of his victims, "I knew you'd come back! I had faith like you said and that kept you safe!"

Frank kneeled down and gave Erza a big hug, "That's why I needed you to have faith in me. You gave me strength and I fought them off. You saved all these people thanks to your hope. I'm so proud of you."

Frank let's go and checks his ammo count again. Everything was empty, but that was until he checked his handgun, there was one bullet left in the chamber. Castle evacuated the round and it twirled through the air and it fell into his hand. He takes a good look at it and pockets it.

"Let's go, Erza Scarlet."

…

The next couple of days were a blur to Erza, she was tired from the events and did spend a good chunk of it sleeping, but the last thing she remembered was being placed into a warm bed. It was hazy, but she remembered Frank's firm hands tucking her in and he stood up to leave.

She didn't want him to go, she asked Frank Castle to stay with her. Frank chuckled at the comment. The next thing that happened resonated with her…

"I need to go, there are other people like you who need help," he places something small and cold into Erza's hands, "take this, let it be a reminder of me, those who need help, and to always have hope. I'll miss you, Erza Scarlet."

And Frank Castle stood up and walked away. Erza Scarlet fell asleep grasping Frank's last bullet.

 **Strange: I'm pretty proud of this one!**

 **Stark: Dude, this one got pretty heavy. I'm proud!**

 **Strange: And to you, the people! If you liked this chapter too and you want to help the story grow, spread the word and get our notoriety up!**

 **Stark: Absolutely! I personally can't wait to see how this affects the story and where it goes from here.**

 **Strange: Oh yeah, things are going to escalate quickly and things will only "heat" up from here!**

 **Stark: That pun was terrible…**

 **Strange: shut up!**

 **Strange: Also, if you haven't picked up on it already, each of the chapter titles has a hidden layer, can you figure out what it is. Leave a comment to see if you can guess it!**

 **Next Chapter: Trouble**


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